October 2009

John Willis and Tom Young:
Recycled Realities

October 1 - 29

Not far from where Willis and Young live in the mountains
of New England is a paper mill situated in an otherwise
pristine vista of forested mountains. Below the mill's smoke
stacks lies an expanse of soft white forms made from
bundled scraps of paper that construct an environment at
once alien and strangely akin to the surrounding landscape.

This landscape of virgin and recycled trees represents an
aesthetic and philosophical contradiction for the two artists.
The harsh industrial landscape holds the promise of creative
re-use of limited resources, as mountains of baled paper
scraps wait to be turned back into products that will re-enter
the marketplace.

Willis and Young have said of their method, "Searching
through the random placement of paper, the variety of
images continues to amaze us on formal and conceptual
terms. Juxtapositions of imagery reveal individual and
cultural voices of the past, whispering, calling out, and
validating memory."

The work in the exhibition is funded in part by Individual
Artists Fellowships from the Vermont Arts Council, the
Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Vermont Arts
Endowment Fund. For more information on these artists,
visit the Bannister Gallery Web site.

This exhibition is curated by Amy Montali of the Rhode
Island College art faculty. There will be artist talks the night
of the reception.